FO3: New Steal
by Dylta
Summary: Follow Elder Lyons in his journey to Rebuild the Brotherhood Of Steal and avenge his daughter's death.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Elder Lyons sir," said a Paladin.

"Yes what is it?" Lyons replied.

"The scouts are reporting hundreds of Veribirds on the horizon, they will be in range of the Citadel within two hours." The Palidin replied.

"Is Liberty-Prime in fighting condition?" questioned Lyons

"Yes sir, but, it is still at Project Purity, the scribes say it is no condition to move." Said the knight timidly. "Our forces men forces stationed there already."

Elder Lyons let out a sigh and stood up from his desk. He looked around his office. The walls were as bleak and grey as they had always been. They seemed less inviting now that the pictures of his dear Sarah were gone. He could barley stand to look at them ever since he learned what had happened. . The shelves were empty and the table was blank, everything reminded him of her, and her death. There was so much paperwork on his desk that he couldn't see the actual surface of the cold grey desk. Doing paperwork was they only thing that didn't remind him of Sarah, except for the Latest mission reports on Project purity and the Lyons Pride. Who would lead the pride now that she was gone? His only daughter was gone, the Brotherhood was breaking apart because of his actions, the Enclave was on the verge of victory, and now the Citadel was about to be lost. This was too much for an old man to deal with. It made him so very tired.

"I will arm the Bombs, Have the soldiers gather as much gear as they can carry. I want the scribes downloading as much of the database as possible, have as many knights assist them as necessary. We leave in half an hour. The Scribes will take the tunnels to the memorial, escorted by sixty Knights and twenty Paladins. Everyone else will be walking with all the gear they can carry. I want one hundred men armed with missile launchers to take care of any Virtabird that try to pick us off, with another fifty men with Mini-guns to take care of ground forces. We must hold the Jefferson memorial at all costs, Project Purity is the last hope for the people in D.C.," ordered Lyons.

"Yes Sir!" said the Knight as he turned to leave.

Lyons stood up and walked over to the large metal safe bolted to the back corner of the office floor. He put in the code, 12212256, Sarah's birthday. He pulled out two holo-tapes, a few pieces of paper, a small felt-covered box, and a photograph of his daughter. He put the picture and the box in his breast pocket, set the papers on top of his computer terminal, and plugged the holo-tapes into his computer.

"Access Citadel Distress command Alpha-Bata-Foxtrot-9" He typed.

"Enter Alpha Double-Prime security code now!" responded the terminal.

"The light may bring the darkness of fallout but Steel shines forever." Typed Lyons.

"Access Granted, Please set time of detonation." Replied the Terminal.

Lyons punched in the exact time two hours from that moment,"12-07-2277, 11:35:06 pm."

"Enter confirmation code Beta-Beta Prime." The terminal commanded.

"Even in desperation Steel will bind you, support you, strengthen you, and inter you." He entered.

"Citadel destruction active, time until detonation-one hour, fifty-nine minutes, fifty-eight seconds." the terminal said.

"Activate Internal microphone." Lyons entered, "set recording destination to external device/Holo-tape02. Record now"


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"It is Friday December seventh, Twenty-Two Seventy-Seven. My name is Elder Joseph Robert Lyons. For the past Twenty-one years I have been the leader of the Brotherhood of Steel in Washington D.C. and the surrounding area. I was sent by the

Brotherhood's Council of Elders in the western United States to recover any and all pre-war technology in the D.C. area. And that is what I have done, to the best of my abilities. When I arrived he I was as cold and uncaring as the steel I wore. I marched my troops through the Capital wasteland and past thousands of suffering, dieing people and thought nothing of it.

I was given full control of The Eastern Brothers a few months before my daughter Sarah was born. I knew that she was destine for greatness from the moment I saw her. Her mother, Jenny, died during child birth. That is when my attitude changed. I wanted a better world for my sweet Sarah. I wanted a world that was kind and caring not just a world that was more advanced, as many of the Western Elders want, but a world that would give my child a chance to be a child, not to have to worry about mutants or raiders or machineries, or the remnant of an old and corrupted government. That is when I ordered the Citadel built. It would be a safe haven for all the brothers under my command. A safe haven for my daughter. We found a partly destroyed apartment complex that had been under construction before the Great War. To our surprise the construction Crain there was still operational, even after two hundred years. That, along with the eagerness of my brothers helped us build a fully fortified citadel within a few months.

That is when I met James and Doctor Li. They were some crazy scientists with insane ambitions, Project Purity. At the time I was sure that purifying all the water in the Potomac was impossible. James' wife was pregnant with a daughter, I was in James a chance for my daughter to have a childhood, his daughter and mine would live a life away from the fighting of the wasteland inside Project Purity, so I agreed to support and protect the project. That was the final catalyst for my metaphases. My heart was no longer made of cold steel; it was a warm blood-filled, flesh heart.

I implemented changes to the operation of my brothers. They were to assist the civilians of the wasteland when it didn't interfere with completing their mission, or threatened their life. Our scribes educated the children in several settlements. We trained countless doctors and nurses.

My daughter took her first steps when she was thirteen months old. Ever since then she would walk out to the courtyard and watch the Knights train everyday. The shouting, bangs and blasts, bright lights and shiny armor excited her, mesmerized her. I longed for the day James daughter would be born, so I could get Sarah away from the harshness of the wasteland that had even breached the walls of the Citadel. Perhaps the scientists and Purity could keep out that harshness, remove it, purify it.

The day I longed for finally came, but not how I planed. James' wife had met the same fate as my own, she died giving birth. James had taken his daughter and disappeared. He took her away to have a better, safer life. I suppose I can't blame his, I almost did the same. Forsaken the sum of my life's work, humanity's future, to try and save my daughter.

James' disappearance was the breaking point. Everything went down hill from then on. With no hope for a normal life in Project Purity for Sarah, and no results now that the lead scientist had left, I abandoned Project Purity just as James had done.

Our forces were stretched thin as it was, I couldn't waste troops protecting the dead dream of a lost scientist. The super mutants had been pushing to take The Mall for the past month and battling them was wearing our resources thin. I scaled back our humanitarian efforts and refocused on the original, and primary goal of uncovering, recording, and restoring the knowledge of the pre-war world.

Eleven years later things had not gotten any better. The Super mutants had completely taken over downtown D.C. Several of the major settlements had fallen to raiders or mutants. Our forces had dwindled to a few thousand. A group calling them self's the "True Steel" had rebelled against my command saying that I had forsaken the mission of the Brotherhood. I had no choice but to expel them from the Citadel. I has no animosity toward them, I even agreed with them on some level. The called them self's the Outcasts and chanted their name as the marched out of the Citadel in the red painted armor. That cut the moral of the men who had not left. Some of the Brothers hated the outcasts but some agreed with them but were to afraid to leave.

Sarah has become a true Steel Brother, even at the age of eleven. She already showed leadership skills and was the best marksmen in the brotherhood, at least that is what she would tell you. I felt like a failure every time I was her cheer as she killed some defenseless wasteland animal. She would never be a normal child, but such is the nature of those who have greatness thrust upon them.

It was on Sarah's twelfth birthday that the scribes told me that they had found one of the greatest discoveries the Brotherhood had ever made. Liberty-Prime. An enormous combat robot built before the Great War to liberate Alaska. We had it taken to the Citadel immediately. I felt relief knowing that Liberty-Prime would be able to fight ant threat and my Sarah would be safe.

When Sarah was eighteen she was old enough to fight just as hard as any other Brother. But she wanted to fight harder that any other Brother. She started an group of elite Brothers, Lyons Pride, the toughest, quickest, most deadly brothers were assigned to her command. The Lyons Pride took one all the near impossible, suicide missions. Sarah had become a fighter, a killer.

There were murmurs of a young woman who hade come from Vault 101, the only pre-war Nuclear bomb shelter with people still in it. She had had the settlement of megaton, and Afaru. Freed slaves from Paradise Falls, and restored the Lincoln Memorial. Then I heard from Three-Dog that James had come to visit him, and shortly after his daughter. After all those years both of them resurfaced.

I continued to hear reports of James' daughter, until she arrived on my doorstep, along with Doctor Li and a few others from Project Purity. James had revived the project. Apparently an old enemy of the brotherhood had heard of this before I did. The Enclave had stormed the Jefferson Memorial and taken over Project Purity. James had killed himself to save his daughter. They escaped through the tunnels that connected the memorial with the Citadel. I gave the scientist refuge in the Citadel and aided James' daughter in finding the missing piece to making project Purity work.

She was so much like James, in looks and personality and ambition. Her name was Alexandra Valerie Stanford. She so much like Sarah as well. I gave her the tools she needed to finish her mission and she left to find a G.E.C.K., the last piece to making Purity work.

She disappeared for almost a week. In that week the Enclave had fortified the Jefferson Memorial beyond most of my brothers imaginations. Sarah wanted to take The Pride to retake the Memorial, but I refused to let her. I knew that that would truly be a suicide mission. Then Alex returned, empty handed. The had been captured by the Enclave and they had taken the G.E.C.K. They were making the preparations to activate the purifier. I knew that what ever the Enclave had intended to use if for, it would most likely not benefit humanity. But not all hope was lost, Alex has killed the president and destroyed the Enclaves main base, Raven Rock. I knew if I didn't act the Enclave would complete their plan. I ordered Lyons Pride to take bake the Jefferson memorial. But this time it wouldn't be suicide. Alex was a better fighter than all of Lyons Pride combined. She would save the project, save humanity, save my Sarah. And they would have Liberty-Prime to support them. I knew they would succeed.

They cleared out all of the Enclave in their way and took back Project Purity with little effort. But, just like everyone who has greatness thrust upon them, Sarah and Alex would meet an enemy that no gun could defeat, their own destiny. The pressure tanks in the purifier were about to overload but Alex entered the radiation filled chamber and activated the purifier. As the device activated an unconceivable amount of radiation filled the inner half of the memorial, killing everyone inside. Alex, Sarah, Paladins Jonston and Venon, and Knights Remon, Tifton, and Lane.

The project was a success. Doctor Li informed me that all the radiation in the Potomac and connected waters would be gone within months. They gave their lives to save humanity, even after their fathers had forsaken humanity to save them.

Now, as I record this, The Enclave is just a few miles away. My daughter is dead, my soldiers are dieing, my Citadel is about to be destroyed, and I am about to lose a war to an enemy I though was defeated nearly forty years ago.

I plan to recall all my forces to The Jefferson Memorial. We will be able to defend out self's better there. We will be able to protect the only thing that I have not failed at, Project Purity. If I am to be the Elder who lost his Citadel, the respect of his men, his only child, and lost sight of the goals of the Brotherhood, I will also be the who aided in saving humanity from the doom of an irradiated wasteland. I believe that all that Saving humanity has made up for all my failures. Or at least that is what I want to believe.

The codex say that 'We are forged of steel, shaped by honor, tempered by battle, and sharpened by dedication, but every Brother, strong and weak, new blood and battle warn, is still human. Never let Steel wear away your humanity.' I feel I have lived, and lead by that rule, above all else."

"Holo-tape capacity reached, Recording Stopped." The terminal said. "Warning: Time until detonation; ninety minutes. All personnel advised to evacuate.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Sir, the scribes have copied the database onto portable devices and have secured all important materials. All the non-combat personnel are ready to leave and are waiting with their escort at the gate. I have dispatched several teams to establish check points along the rout to the memorial. The have mounted turrets and missiles ready to defend us from incoming Enclave. We sent out some of the larger equipment ahead of us and we have received confirmation it has arrived safely. The men are ready to move when you are." Said Paladin Sampson.

"Thank you Sampson. Have the scribes leave immediately. Then have the men do a final sweep of the building to make sure nothing important is left behind." Said Lyons.

"Yes sir." He responded.

"Sampson…." Said Lyons

"Sir?"

"I am not sure weather to take the tunnels with the scribes of march with the men who I so proudly commanded ." said Lyons.

"These men are peak physical condition, they can run and shoot much faster than you can sir. As well you would be a prime target for the Enclave, I would suggest you take the tunnels."

"I will not leave my men to be shot at as I am safe below ground. Ready my Power suit, and my gun." Ordered Lyons.

"Yes sir."

"One last question." Lyons said.

"Sir?"

"Do you think I made the right choice? With project purity, with the Citadel, with Sarah?" he asked.

"It is not my place to think, sir. I am here to kill things and do as I'm told. Those who think get outcasted." Said Sampson.

"I fear that will be our downfall." Said Lyons disappointedly.

Sampson exited the office and shut the door behind him. The sounds of Knights patrolling, soldiers relaxing, scribes experimenting, the buzzing and beeping of the computers had all stopped. It was as if the Citadel was already dead. He took the Holo-tapes from the terminal and placed them in his pocket. He went over to the safe and retrieved a Laser Rifle with the words "One shot, One kill" carved into the side.

Lyons left his office and walked the empty grey halls to the now bare armory. There was one suit of Power armor left. It was the experimental Mark 1.5 Power Armor. It was painted red and had the Brotherhoods seal painted on the chest and back in yellow. He removed it from the locked cage containing it and put it on. The suit moved him more the he moved it. His old tired muscles didn't ache as he moved, his tight joints moved with easy. The armor made him feel like his young self. Before all his failures, before his Sarah.

He walked out of the armory into the courtyard. The familiar sound of the initiates training, the Paladins exorcising, the scribes taking notes on something were all gone. Replaced by the quiet whispers of the men waiting to leave the place they called home. Waiting on the man who they entrusted their lives to. The man who they still held allegiance to. The man who didn't deserve it.

He walked a silent march across the court yard. Every mans eyes on him. He couldn't look back at them. He looked around. The hexagonal yard had several shooting ranges. Lots of dirt and concrete. Grey and brown, just like every other bit of land in the wastes. There was blood on the ground in the hand combat ring. A trail of thousands of footprints surrounded the outer edge of the yard where the men would run all day. There were scorch marks on the walls behind the shooting range dummies. He bent down and grabbed a handful of sand. He took off his helmet and watched the sand blow away in the wind. The wind was different from the normal wasteland air. It smelt clean, wet, alive.

A tear rolled down his cheek and dropped onto the sand. This was his accomplishment. Clean, fresh water. Already it was bringing the air alive. And he might loose it all to the Enclave.

He approached his men and a paladin yelled "Face left. Helmets off." All the men faced him. He could see all of their faces; bare, fearful, expectant. Their eyes bore into him, as if they all thought he was a failure.

"Men, I stand before you, as one of you. I have asked much of you in recent times. The enclave are at our doorstep. They are about to takeover this base and kill us all. If they gain control of the Citadel they will have a foothold in the heart of D.C. and will be nearly unstoppable. If they gain access to the database they will know everything we have ever know, weapons cache locations, fallback points, tactical strategy. We can't allow that to happen. I have armed the self-destruct and intend on destroying this base before they get a hold of it. I know many of you don't know why I have chosen the actions I have. Sometimes I don't know either. I see my self as a failure. I have lost my only child, my top commanders, many of my men. I have been called a disgrace by the western Elders, by some of my men. They say I have lost sight of the goals of the brotherhood. 'To ensure the future development of the human race.' But how can we ensure humanity's development if we don't care about humans, if we have lost our humanity? I ask you now to leave the place you have called home and march a long dangerous march to the Jefferson Memorial. There we will reinforce out brothers defending possible one of the most important things to the fate of humanity. I feel that this justifies my failures.

Project Purity is fully functional and is in the process of removing radiation in the water. You can smell it in the air already, the wasteland is coming back to life. Many people have voluntarily given their lives to ensure this project is completed. I will not deny you the same right. The right to volunteer your life to ensure that humanity has a better chance at a better life. If any of you doesn't believe that what I am doing is right. If you think I disgrace the brotherhood. If you think project purity is not worth your life then I give you permission to leave now, you will not march with us. I will not think you a coward. I will hold no hate or anger toward you. You will still be an honorable member of the Brotherhood. Our brothers at Fort Independence, these so called "Outcasts" will take you in. If you do stay, know that you are volunteering your life, if you die you will be remembered as one of the many who gave their lives to save humanity. And you will retain yours." Said Lyons "We are forged of steel, shaped by honor, tempered by battle, and sharpened by dedication, but every Brother, strong and weak, new blood and battle warn, is still human. Never let Steel wear away your humanity"


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Move out" shouted a Paladin. The gate opened and the men charged out. Every soldier was carrying several boxes as well as a large pack of items on their back, everyone except for the men with rockets and mini-guns protecting everyone else. They moved with surprising speed considering the weight they were carrying. The men had already run down the hill and to the bridge by the time that Lyons had exited the Citadel. He could see a sandbag position with two large cannons nearly five miles away. That was the first check point. From the hill the Citadel sat on to the area of dense buildings and rubble there was a half mile stretch of nearly bare brown dirt. The ruins of the city would provide protection from the vertabirds, but they would have to get there first. The bridge between the hill and the city was covered with cars and trucks from before the war. The left half of the bridge was starting to fall into the river. To the west there was a black swarm of Enclave vertabirds. They would be in for a nasty surprise when they got here.

When he got to the bottom of the hill he heard two explosions. The first was a vertabird firing its rockets and the second was four rockets hitting it almost simultaneously. The long, black, helicopter-like body of the vertabird was set ablaze by the impact of the brother's rockets. The left thruster on one wing exploded and the entire right wing was sheared off. The rear stabilizer caught fire and it crashed into a billboard, knocking it over. Two more birds appeared from behind a building. They shot off three rockets each before they were taken down by the rocket launchers. The mini-guns were able to detonate two of the vertabird's rockets. One rocket hit a nearby car, another hit the guard railing of the bridge sending huge chunks of concrete into the river. The other two hit the first few rows of men, causing blood, steal, and dirt to fly into the air.

Three more birds appeared but the men were ready this time. One bird was hit on the left wing causing it to spin out of control, but it still fired off two rockets which impacted the bird next to it. The third managed to fire one rocket but it missed the bridge entirely and hit the water, causing a column of water to rise up and rain down on the soldiers. A rocket hit the third vertabird square in the cockpit causing it to crash into the river.

Some men had reached the cover of the buildings and were able to set down their cargo and provide fire support for the rest of the men. Six vertabirds came around a large tower and opened fire of the men. The shower of led from the min-guns detonated the rockets in the air. The birds stopped firing rockets and opened up on their laser cannons. Several men were hit but the rocket launchers took down two birds. The mini-guns stopped firing and the rocket launchers fired twelve rockets. Three birds went down but one shot the rocket down before it impacted. The last bird fired off one more rocket before a volley of over twenty rockets destroyed it. The Birds last rocket it the lift support column for the bridge and a large chunk of the bridge fell into the river, along with several brothers.

Once everyone was in the cover of the city there was only a few stray Enclave soldiers to deal with. They arrived at the first check point with forty-five minutes until detonation. The check point was an area roughly one hundred by forty-five yards surrounded by sand bags. There were a several men with rockets ready to fire facing every direction. In the center of the check point were two flack cannons.

"Set down you cargo, take a seat and rest a while. Tend to your wounds.. Get a count on how many we lost. We leave in ten." Said Lyons. He walked over to the Paladin overseeing the cannons. "How quickly can you move this thing?"

"We can pack it up and be ready to move it in six. We will need six men to carry them. But we can keep up," replied the paladin.

"Can you transport them through the tunnels?" asked Lyons.

"Yes Sir. We can have the set up at The memorial and ready to fire by the time everyone else arrives," said the paladin.

"Good, take the cannons and any men to injured to carry equipment back up the hill and into the tunnels, be sure to seal the blast doors when you are down there. You will be the last ones down that way and it will keep the tunnels from being engulfed in flames when the bomb goes off," said Lyons.

"Yes sir"

A young Paladin approached him. "Sir, we have estimated that we lost forty six men. Several men are severely wounded. We have received a transmission from the memorial that the scribes have arrived safely."

"Record the names of the missing men and forward that to the scribes. Inform them that I am sending the badly wounded along with two cannons. I want the cannons up and ready to fire as soon as possible." said Lyons and the boy left to fulfill his orders. Lyons looked around and spotted Paladin Vargus. "Vargus, take a ten man team and scout out ahead. Don't engage unless necessary, this is recon only. Leave six men ready in sniper positions. Report back if you see anything important."

"Understood sir" said Vargus.

Lyons set down on a metal create and took his helmet off. He turned it to face him and looked at the dust covered visor. The last time he wore this was when he first arrived in D.C. He was a different person back then. This thing hadn't been washed since then. All the dust and dirt it collected in those first few months. The slow build up of dust in the armory closet. He grabbed a water bottle and poured it on the helmet. The dirt and blood washed away leaving a shiny clean helmet. "If only it were that easy" he thought to him self. He drank the rest of the water and stood up.

"Sir, the scouts have reported back," said a Knight.

"Already? What is the situation?" replied Lyons.

"The next mile and a half is clear but then the street turns and there are a few dozen Enclave waiting to ambush us on an exit ramp. Paladin Vargus has taken twelve more snipers and is awaiting orders." He said.

"Get his men in position and wait to fire. When we move up I want the mini-guns in front and the rockets right behind them. Don't let them shoot first but wait until the smoke" Said Lyons.

"Yes sir."

"Mini-guns take point, Missile launchers behind them. Don't fire until the snipers do. Your target will be on an exit ramp. I need thirty marksmen in back with me. If you are not shooting, stop when you see the smoke grenades. Lets move out." Ordered Lyons.

The men organized themselves as ordered to and began to march. Thirty men armed with sniper rifles gathered around Lyons and waited for orders. "There will be an ambush in about a mile and a half. A few dozen men hiding on an exit ramp. We have snipers ready to fire on my signal. Identify a target and be ready to shoot but don't point your gun at it. If you think they are about to shoot kill them and I will throw the smoke and our snipers will fire, and everything should work from there." He ordered.

The first mile went by quickly but after that the men became uneasy. They were expecting to be shot at any second. Then the real danger started. They turned the corner and they saw the exit ramp. He could barley make out the outline of a gun barrel or two. One of the shapes made a sudden movement and one of the marksmen shot at him. The shot had hit its mark because a man screamed but was suddenly hushed. Almost twenty five men stood up on the exit ramp. Lyons threw the smoke and suddenly eight of the Enclave men fell down. The Enclave shot back. Six bolts of green light flew towards the building were the snipers were held up. Nine more darted at various targets on the ground. The rockets and mini-guns let lose a hellish volley of lead and fire onto the exit ramp and sent smoke and dust into the air. Five green flashed came flying out of the dust. Several of the men put down their cargo and began firing their side arms into the cloud of smoke where their enemies had been moments ago. Several more rockets shot towards the dust. Red lasers and grenades went flying at the exit ramp at the same time another volley of green plasma hit several rocketeers. The Min-guns opened fire sending thousands of lead bullets at the enemy. There was a constant exchange of sniper fire, rockets, mini-guns, lasers and grenades with the source of the plasma. The smoke started to clear but the bullets continued on. Hundreds of Enclave were pouting out from a standing building. Now that they had a clear target the Rocketeer aimed for the door of the building. The deafening sound of thirty-six rockets impacting the same area of building couldn't muffle the sound of the Enclave's screams as the forward section of the building collapsed, crushing everyone inside. The tenacious sniper fire took care of the last few Enclave forces.

They scouts met up with the rest of the men and they continued on to the memorial unchallenged until they go insight of their goal. Everyone's attention was turned eastward when a mini-nuke was detonated. Two vertabird that were almost three time larger than normal vertabirds accompanied by a dozen regular birds. The men prepared to fire the rockets but were stopped when an enormous green plasma bold engulfed the birds and disintegrated them.

"What the hell was that?" questioned Lyons.

"That was our plasma cannon" replied Doctor Li, who had just come from the memorial to great them. "It was supposed to be Liberty-Prime's Last defense weapon but it can only be activated if it self destruct is on. Normally it would destroy its capacitors but we removed it and used the Flack Cannon as a base to direct the plasma. Oh and welcome to Project Purity Lyons."

"Sir, you need to see this." Said a Paladin. "The Enclave virtabirds have set down at the Citadel and are Trying to breach the Gate." He said.

"How long until detonation?" asked Madison.

"Ten Seconds and counting" said Lyons. "Cover your eyes" He yelled.

There was a bright flash and then the loudest sound he had ever heard. The ground shook and then everything went still. His ears were ringing and he could barley see because of the light. Lyons looked around as he slowly regained his senses.

"We are now truly men with out homes, but we still have meaning" he whispered.


End file.
